Three teams representing the Florida JR. Panthers organization enjoyed success at recent state, national and international tournaments.

JR. Panthers' age group contingents traveled to Orlando, Pennsylvania and Toronto to test their mettle in prestigious events. The program's Under-16 AA squad took top honors in the Pittsburgh Midwinter Classic, while the Mite Major team prevailed in the Avalanche Winter Classic Tournament in Toronto, and the Bantam Major won the Under-16 A title at the MLK Invitational in Orlando.

Here are the JR. Panthers' highlights from the respective tournaments:

Under-16 AA:

The Florida JR. Panthers squad went undefeated en route to its first-place showing in the Pittsburgh Midwinter Classic. It was Florida's third consecutive tournament title.

The final saw the JR. Panthers rule over the Northern Virginia Ice Dogs, 5-1, on a pair of goals by Drew Bengtson and one apiece by Ben Hyman, Brenden Feingold and Kamden Benedict.

Florida opened the weekend with a 3-3 tie versus the Armstrong (Pa.) Arrows, and then defeated the Ashburn (Va.) Extreme, 5-2, behind Kamden Benedict's hat trick.

In its final round-robin game, the Coral Springs-based skaters earned a 1-1 tie with the Ice Dogs thanks to a strong effort by netminder Drew Benedict.

Mite Major:

The Florida JR. Panthers won three of four games in the Avalanche Winter Classic Tournament, and the one that mattered most was its championship-clinching 4-2 victory over the Duffield Devils. It was the Devils who handed Florida its only loss earlier in the tournament.

The Mite Major team opened play in the Novice Division by routing the Peterborough Minor Hockey Holiday Ford Petes, 14-0. The JR. Panthers then dropped a 6-3 decision to Duffield before bouncing back to defeat the North York Knights White squad, 13-1. That win advanced the JR. Panthers into the final.

Bantam Major:

Playing up one age division, the Florida JR. Panthers Bantam squad rose to the challenge and won the annual MLK Invitational presented by the Orlando Youth Hockey Association.

The JR. Panthers sealed the deal with a 3-1 triumph over the Scorpions Black team.

All of Florida's goals came in the first period and were netted by Kyle Podwika, Justin Bofshever and Blaise Muriel.

Muriel also contributed a pair of assists, with others going to Hunter Lyonnaise, Richard Alvarez and Chase Lieblein. Goalie Charlie Marino turned back 13 shots to preserve the win.

The JR. Panthers surged out of the tournament's starting gate with a 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Knights and followed that up with a 9-1 win against the Charleston (S.C.) Junior Stingrays.

The JR. Panthers advanced to the final by eliminating the Atlanta Fire, 4-1. Podwika led the way in that action with two goals, while Garett Schwartz recorded a goal and an assist.